Polar Foxes (Alopex lagopus) on Iceland live in a wide range of
the Iceland island. As their main prey outside the coastal regions is the
ptarmigan they follow these birds. However they also hunt prey amongst breeding
bird colonies at the coast. A special area of interest regarding to the arctic
fox on Iceland is the extreme north-western region of Iceland. Because it is a
nature reserve, hunting arctic foxes is forbidden. As a result, they are far
less shy toward humans and thus close encounters around Hornvik are possible.
This elucidates a remarkable behavior characteristic that has been shown on
many other regions of the (far) north of the globe: arctic foxes generally are
at ease with human settlements. However, when hunting is severe, as is in most
regions on Iceland that changes. It is a shame that foxes in the Hornstradir
region (the natural reserve) are illegally hunted by poachers because they can
earn easy money by showing fox tails to farmers on the main land of Iceland as
a proof of hunted foxes on their farms.

Arctic foxes form close pair bonds for many years. A female has a litter
of 5 to 10 cubs in spring. The male has a full role in bringing up the cubs. A
special feature of this fox species is that they have fur under their paws
during the wintertime, obviously for heat insulation. Also their round shaped
small ears is an adaption to heat conservation.

In the meanwhile I can show you two photo's I took of Arctic foxes on
Iceland-Hornvik in 2001:

I would like to add a paragraph/quote from the IUCN page on arctic
foxes:Iceland: Hersteinsson
(1987a) summarizes the status of arctic fox in Iceland. Because of their
suspected preference for eating lambs and sheep, legislation in Iceland has
encouraged persecution of Alopex since 1295. Population levels have fluctuated
since 1855 with possible causes of decline being distemper, strychnine
poisoning, or changes in climate and perhaps prey availability (Hersteinsson
1987b). Recent evidence suggests that the protozoan parasite, Encephalitozoon
cuniculi, may regulate population numbers (Hersteinsson pers. comm.). Where the
parasite is common (40% infected), population levels remain low or decline;
where the parasite is nearly absent (2% infected), population levels increase.
From 1958 to 1981, population levels declined near towns and in densely
populated rural areas. The species was hunted by various methods, many of which
were aided by the use of snowmobiles. State-subsidized hunting encouraged
continued persecution: despite an increase in hunting effort, offtake dropped
from 1,590 individuals in 1958 to 456 individuals in 1978. The entire
population was estimated at 700 to 800 in 1982. By 1985, the population
appeared to have increased to 1,780 ± 70 individuals.